I am lucky enough to call the great state of New Jersey my home. New Jersey the land of Taylor Ham, subs, and going “down the shore” has been very influential in shaping me into the young woman I am today but when I got to college I quickly had my NJ-language literacy put on the chopping block. If there was a Buzzfeeed list (and there very well might be) of the top conversations you have in college this would be #1. I am referring to the “How Do You Say?” test that often takes place during late night chats in the dorm lounge Freshman year. In those conversations I stand by my use of the term “sub” and “soda” but my Mid-Western peers will not budge with “pop” and “hoagie.” I think those heated conversations happen so often because for most this is the first time our language literacy is the center of attention.
I thought of these terminology conversations when reading the Language Diversity and Learning chapter. The same attachment we, college students, have to our home terminology is similar to the attachment young students have to their home/community languages. I agree with the reading; teachers everywhere need to stop “correcting” Ebonics or ‘Non-Standard English’ and instead incorporate it in lesson plans while teaching code-switching for optional future endeavors. As a class on literacy I wonder if I am the only one who feels indebted to my home state and it’s lingo. Is your language literacy apart of your identity? How so?
I find the connection you make here between linguistics and identity to be both pertinent and relatable. I think this sort of connection exists on multiple planes/levels. For example, I am from Maryland and I had never heard the term “pop” used to refer to soda of any kind in my entire life unless someone was deliberately attempting to appear as if they had just stepped out of a 1950’s time machine or were acting in the movie-musical “Grease”. This is minor in its nature, yet nonetheless does from a sort of cultural identity across state-lines where differences are more and more minimal the shorter the difference.
However, at a higher level I find, at least in my own life anyway, our proficiency at grammar, the “level” we speak at as it were, our lexicon, the everyday words we use, do in fact impact us in a profound sense. I always found speaking with an expansive vocabulary as something that was a strong part of my identity; I did not enjoy describing something merely as “interesting” or “unique” when there was (quite literally) a dictionary/lexicon of other words that could be used to describe the same feeling. Perhaps my parents encouraged this because it made me seem “smarter”. Perhaps they found it amusing. Perhaps they thought it would make life easier. Regardless, I have always associated my interest with language/speaking as a core part of what makes me who I am, but as we go on further in this class I find my definition most likely needs expanding.
I too, feel a sense of almost patriotism towards my hometown and where I came from. Not being from Pittsburgh, it was definitely strange the first few weeks coming here and saying a few things that me and my fellow Philadelphians say on almost an everyday basis. Two things that people looked at me strange when I said them were, “wooder” and “jawn.” Obviously, it is supposed to be pronounced water. I get that. I just do not say it like that a to be honest I feel weird saying it the “proper” way. “Jawn” is another word I use sometimes that most people from around here actually do not know. It literally can take the place of any noun. It can be used to describe anything that you would like it to. It took a few weeks to explain that to my core group of friends, but once they got the meaning, they didn’t question me on it ever again.
I 100% agree that your language literacy is a part of your identity. Everyone has a slightly different way of speaking and communicating and that is what makes each and everyone unique. To me personally, the Philly jargon that I use represents the environment I grew up in and the area of living that shaped my childhood and young adulthood. Also, another predisposed thinking of me (considering I am Italian) is that I talk with my hands. Moving them in all crazy directions as I talk in order to somehow convey my message better than just verbal cues. These two things do not necessarily make me a unique individual, however, it does separate me into a category of people that grew up in and around Philadelphia with an Italian heritage.